I really like Crandall currant and wanted to try variations in this ribes species and closely related species. So I wanted to find a yellow fruited one and all I found is seeds. So I grew some out and they are more orange than yellow. When ripe it’s tart but in a citrus flavor. Orange like flavor, I liked it! But the problem with species examples is the sparse production of fruit. Still was an interesting experiment and it’s plenty hardy enough too. Berry size is small too. Wild fruit in my backyard! Love it.
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cool coincidence, i was just eating some on a hike in the san fernando valley…
there are a few bushes here and there, most are the reddish fruit variety, i think. the fruit definitely isn’t sweet, but i got the impression that it is slightly less tart than the orange variety. i’d love to try a jam or pie made from these but it would be tedious picking enough since they are on the small side.
know of anyone trying to select or breed these for bigger and sweeter fruit? or are they in the same camp as hollyleaf cherries?
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Cool! No breeding going on but I may try. Thanks for the info! This orange when ripe is not that tart. Less tart than pink currants. I was surprised how good it was. I’ll cross with Crandall maybe back cross with the orange. The flowers are small that’s not going to be fun working with. It’s an idea I’ll have to think about it.
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Gotta breed an “orange juice” or “orange glow” Currant ! 
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The one I have from Eastern Washington is orange and tastes like Citrus too. It seems to have a very low degree of self fertility so I’m going to need to make sure it gets cross pollination. The original wild stand set fruit heavily, but there were other specimens in the area contributing to pollination. I’d love to cross it with ‘Crandall’ in hopes of producing something that’s self pollinating like ‘Crandall,’ but with orange fruit like the wild type.
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Nice strings of berries ! 
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They are nice size too. Once the cordon is done the berries are going to look super impressive. Each side will be 2-3 feet long. Rovada is an awesome cultivar.
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How long did it take from seed to fruit? I’ve been considering getting some seeds as the golden currant available here is likely the same dark fruit strain used as.rootstock.
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I grew some golden currants several years ago from cuttings with the intention of crossing with Crandall. They were from Idaho and also Eastern Washington via Corvalis. I managed to get a few berries (yellow, red, black and orange) in year two, but I struggled to keep them alive and never managed to get crosses. They were hammered by foliar diseases. I also had some other clove currants from drier locations, and they also had fungal issues. They did significantly increase the set on my Crandall, and I did grow out some seeds, but the seedlings were not productive and also had fungal issues. They are just not adapted to eastern humidity and rain.
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Not till the 4th year. I might have had a few third year.
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they are a beautiful color, but if you can’t grow enough to eat for can, its best as an experiment!
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I remember when you planted it!
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Crandall is not a clone. As I wrote in my book UNCOMMON FRUITS FOR EVERY GARDEN (now out of print, but I am updating it): “The most widely grown clove currant was found in the wild by R. W. Crandall of Newton, Kansas, in 1888. ‘Crandall’, as it was called, had the virtue of bearing tasty fruits up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Unfortunately, many plants sold as ‘Crandall’ were seedlings, so plants were variable, leading some writers to report the flavor as good, others to report “tough skin, unpleasant flavor” (fruits on my plants have tender skins and a very nice flavor).”
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Hey Lee!
Crandall fits the definition of a cultivar. Mine produces tons of fruit. So if not a clone I don’t care.
It’s a keeper. Interesting genus, the only genus in the Grossulariaceae family.
Mine is very productive, large size fruit on a large bush.
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When I was in SoCal I grew the native golden current. It was very prolific in the high desert. Birds would spread the seed and they would come up under every tree. I have a couple that are doing OK here in Northern Arizona, but not as well as back in Ca. In both areas, they are the first to leaf out in spring.
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Nice to see this thread!
I just (5 mins ago) put a supposedly native Golden Currant (California) into the ground between my Peaches and Nectarine. It’s small but I can see buds and also has some new growth coming out from the ground. I have a slightly larger space about 6-8ft away from it on the other side of the peaches and I plan to plant my Crandall Clove Currant there. I got it from HoneyBerryUSA earlier this year and it’s been growing (well) in a pot so far.
Let’s see what I get and if my perennial enemy the squirrel let’s me have some in the spring.
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The wild golden currants I’ve tasted around Colorado are variable in taste but usually not very good. I bought a couple of unknown type “golden currants” and put them in a shadier part of my small yard (prime real estate goes to the Crandall variety). The one that gets a little more sun has kept good form but hasn’t fruited. The others in mostly shade are 80% vertical reaching stem and little else. They are alive but notably unhappy. I’m tempted to try one in a sunnier area, but it seems the odds of getting a tasty and productive plant are low. I guess the question is, would you grow a wild type red or black currant? I’d probably stick with a cultivar. Maybe if it was a wax currant for xeric applications and there was no cultivar available, it would be worth it.
I have tasted my several crandals that I have from burnt ridge, and I love the taste, sweet and tart. Also burnt ridge has always sent decent sized plants. I’ve gotten a few less expensive ones from High country gardens, and they were pretty small, but they caught up in size after a year (still haven’t tried them yet).
Cultivars are best of species so I stick to cultivars. As you said not all species have cultivars. I like the golden currants but the wilds are very unproductive. I have an orange one and the taste is decent. But production is pathetic. Small berries too. I still grow it for fun.
My currant crop is good this year, bushes are loaded with berries. I grow all the colors. I like to make syrup for cordials. So tasty.
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Not Golden specifically, but I recently picked up a couple R. malvaceum ‘Montara Rose’ chaparral currants to plant in my yard as they’re extremely native to where I am. Not really looking to eat the fruit fresh but giving insects and birds something else to focus on, plus it’s a beautiful plant.
I found this to be a good article on various west coast native currants: Pacific Horticulture | A Currant Affair